Dumbbell burpees is a multidisciplinary exercise that you could be familiar with and you must have watched someone performing it somewhere if at all fitness interests you.
However, if you have never heard the term dumbbell burpee, this article will not only define it for you, but it will coach you through the steps you should take when performing it and also spell out why you need to incorporate it in your workout routine.
Dumbbell burpee is a plyometric workout that will engage several muscles across your body, it will help you gain strength and make you have a better physical form.
If you love working out you already know the rule of thumb that applies any workout that you are trying for the first time: Start with the least weight that makes you comfortable, then glide up as your form permits.
Now let’s look at the steps that you should take when performing dumbbell burpees.
- Pick a pair of dumbbells and take an upright posture with your feet spread just about your shoulder-width.
- Keep your head straight and your chin up, your shoulders should be drawn back so that they tower over your hips.
- See that your weight is evenly distributed, and that your feet are stable on the floor. This will be your starting position for all the reps that you will take.
- Keeping your back straight, lower your hips and break your knees, then bring the dumbbells to the floor right above your feet to support your body on the ground.
- Push back your legs so that you are in a plank position then take one push up and reverse the jump back to where your feet initially was – next to the dumbbells, then stand up to the initial upright posture.
MUSCLES WORKED BY DUMBBELL BURPEES
As stated earlier, dumbbell burpees engage many muscles of the upper and the lower body due to the multiple movements involved in doing it. Let us look at the main muscles worked by this workout.
HAMSTRINGS, GLUTES, QUADS
When you initially bend down to plant the pair of dumbbells on the ground, your hamstrings and glutes will be engaged.
Again, when you jump back your hamstring will hold you into the high plank position, and when jump back into a squat, your glutes and quads will work eccentrically.
CORE AND SHOULDERS
When you jerk your legs back so that your body is in a high plank position, your hands holding the dumbbell will be supporting your upper body ant this will employ your shoulder muscles (rotator cuffs and deltoids) and your core.
CHEST AND TRICEPS
Your chest muscles and triceps are called in when you do a push up from the high plank position.
BENEFITS OF DUMBBELL BURPEES
Here are some of the dumbbell burpees benefits
INCREASES STRENGTH AND BALANCE
Dumbbell burpees will make it easier for you to perform other compound exercises because it has the ability to increase your strength and improve your balance.
With a stronger core, you will be able to take on exercises that involve heavy weights like deadlifts, lower back and upper back workouts.
INCREASES ENDURANCE
Mostly people do the dumbbell burpees as an endurance workout. The aim is usually to go for as many reps as possible or to hit a particular rep count under a given period of time.
As your rep count increases, you will be building power as well as gaining a high muscular endurance. Muscular endurance is the amount of time that your muscles can work before they get exhausted.
CARDIOVASCULAR WORKOUT
Dumbbell burpees is one of the most ideal cardiovascular workouts that you will come across because it involves a lot of body movements therefore it will increase the rate of blood flow in your veins which will compel your heart pump blood faster.
FULL-BODY WORKOUT
Dumbbell burpees is virtually a full-body workout that calls onto various muscle groups across your body. The muscles worked out include; hamstrings, glutes, triceps, delts, pecs, quadriceps, and core.
PLYOMETRIC EXERCISE
The burpee is an ideal plyometric exercise because it is very explosive. Plyometric exercises help in improving your twitch fiber muscles that are helpful in sudden power movements. Training these fibers improves your athletic performance. Instructors recommend them for sportspeople training in swimming, running, climbing, tennis, and soccer.
IMPROVES FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH
Dumbbell burpee helps to improve your functional strength especially when you quickly jerk yourself up from the floor.
Functional strength helps you to perform daily routines and can help you to react quickly in emergency situations and avoid accident falls.
ALTERNATIVES TO DUMBBELL BURPEE VARIATIONS
- Devil press: This variation is performed by incorporating a dumbbell snatch move. That means you lift the dumbbell up above your head for every burpee repetition.
- Dumbbell burpee to lunge: This is a complex variation that involves a lunge in between your reps to soup up your quad muscles.
- Dumbbell burpee row: when you are in the high plank position, lift the dumbbell towards your chest one after the other before you jump back on your feet.
MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN DOING DUMBBELL BURPEES
If at all you have an underlying medical condition, make sure you consult with your doctor before you embark on the dumbbell burpees workout.
Use only dumbbells that will enable you to go for multiple reps of about 8 to 12 per set.
Don’t pick a heavy pair of dumbbells that will make you to strain in doing the burpees, because by that you will be striving to acquire an injury.
Since this is an intensive exercise, you need to warm up or at least do a couple of stretches.
This will get your muscles ready for the dumbbell burpee and it will also help to avoid muscle pills and muscle strain during the exercise.
However, if you experience a sharp pain of a weird discomfort stop immediately and take a rest of at least 24 or 48 hours.
If you have a previous or pre-existing health condition, consult your physician before beginning an exercise program.
Proper exercise technique is essential to ensure the safety and effectiveness of an exercise program, but you may need to modify each exercise to attain optimal results based on your individual needs.
Always select a weight that allows you to have full control of your body throughout the movement.
When performing any exercise, pay close attention to your body, and stop immediately if you note pain or discomfort.
Don’t do the dumbbell burpees on an empty stomach because it is quite taxing.
If you fall down in the middle of a burpee set before your training partners, I bet you will be the joke of that session.
Nevertheless, don’t show up with a full stomach because you might get a stitch during the workout.
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